Sean Carey

Senior exec VP, Sony Pictures Television

Impact: It’s all about the minisodes. While Sony had far more ambitious digital efforts last year, the studio’s decision to shrink its stable of sitcoms and dramas into Web-friendly morsels — and package them on what it called the Minisode Network — showed what can be accomplished when Hollywood execs think outside the (TV) box. With virtually no production costs, Sony managed to create a revenue stream for itself, while at the same time it subtly goaded consumers to pick up full-length episodes of the same shows on DVD.

Carey has also overseen the transformation of Grouper into Crackle, a video-sharing website that offers users incentives to create content. And late last year, the company invested in Gaia Online, the anime-themed Web community.

All three initiatives showed the value of having Sony’s Internet and TV assets all housed in one division.

POV: Carey will be front and center at CES, with Sony’s TV division planning to make a big splash there. “We’re making a big statement about our company,” says Steve Mosko, prexy of Sony Pictures Television. “We’re really connecting some dots by saying we’re about both content and technology.”